La Tasha McCutchen
La Tasha McCutchen was a contestant on Season 13 of Hell's Kitchen. She was the winner of that season, and was awarded a head chef position at Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill at the Caesars Atlantic City, with a salary of $250,000. Eventually, she shared that prize with Season 14 winner Meghan. Personality While having a not so great start, La Tasha quickly became one of the consistent chefs on the red team. Her calm composure and ability to deal with multiple stations carried her towards the finale and eventually became the winner of that season because of it. She also had a humble and kind personality and was the only one on the red team who tolerated Sterling's antics. Season 13 Episode 1 While the chefs were on their way to Hell's Kitchen, the bus pulled over to Pacific’s Cinerama Theatre as Ramsay wanted to show them an inspirational video before going there. After, Ramsay revealed that the winner of that season would become the Head Chef at Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill at Caesar's Palace, in Atlantic City, and told the chefs to cook their signature dish. During the Signature Dish Challenge, La Tasha was the fourth person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Fernando. She made a grilled hickory rubbed watermelon, but Ramsay was not impressed that she spent 45 minutes grilling a slice of fucking watermelon, and called the dish underwhelming, before giving her only one point. Despite that, the red team won the challenge 24-23 and they were rewarded with dinner at the Hotel Bel-Air cooked by Wolfgang Puck, which she was extremely happy about. During dinner service, La Tasha was on the appetizer station with Kalen. When cooking her first risotto, Ramsay reminded her to cook and taste her risotto, and she was hoping to rebound after scoring only one point at the previous challenge. Her first risotto was deemed perfect, and the red team won the service. Episode 2 Back in the dorms, La Tasha knew that everybody showed potential, and said that if they could keep it up, they might continue winning services. During the Geoduck Challenge, she was seen grabbing the red team's first geoduck during the first part, and during the second part, she was paired with Sade. They were seen only getting one of their attempt accepted, but she said that the women were taking their time as they were focused on quality over quantity. The red team eventually won the challenge 15-14 and they were rewarded with a day on an 80-foot luxury yacht with Ramsay. During dinner service, La Tasha was on the meat station with Jennifer. She was seen getting her lamb accepted by Ramsay. Both teams were named joint losers and Ramsay asked both teams to name two people for elimination. During deliberation, she knew that it was a crash and burn performance, but hoped that everybody would own up to their mistakes. Later, she felt that Denine was falling apart, and that she could be going home. She was not nominated for elimiantion. Episode 3 Back in the dorms, La Tasha broke up an argument between Steve and Sterling and told the later to go back upstairs. During the Jacket challenge, she was the first person from the red team to have their dish judged by Ramsay and went up against Santos in the enchilada round. Despite calling her dish a pie, she won the round over Santos. The red team lost the challenge 4-6 and were punished by taking deliveries of 500 pounds of coffee, grinding them by hand, and prepping both kitchens for the next service. During dinner service, La Tasha was on the fish station with Ashley. On Wendy Williams' ticket , she sent up a raw salmon, which caused Ramsay to kick the women from the kitchen. The red team lost dinner service and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, she admitted that she was concerned that her raw salmon could bite her in the ass. La Tasha was not nominated for elimination, even though she was considered by Denine. After elimination, she felt that the red team’s morale was down. Episode 4 During the Brunch Service Challenge, La Tasha was not seen much, except for saying that she refused to have the crepes sink them, and the red team eventually won the challenge. They were rewarded with rewarded with a meal at Alteller Cren, and flew to San Francisco. During the reward, she loved Dominique Cren's dish and compared it to sex on a plate, and said that she was ready for another win. During dinner service, La Tasha was on the garnish station. She was not seen much, except for saying that the women were determined to not let anything stop them, and the red team on dinner service. Episode 5 When the chefs got a wake-up call at 5:53 AM by a chainsaw user carving an ice block into the Hell’s Kitchen initials, La Tasha thought it was JR coming back for revenge. During the Protein Identification Challenge, she was paired up with Jennifer, and they were the second pair to compete. They randomly chose the calamari chowder, and managed to get it on their third attempt. After the red team's mediocre performance, she hoped that the men would struggle like they did. During the blue team's turn, she was hoping that the timer would reach zero. The red team eventually lost the challenge 7:41-7:07, and they were punished with taking deliveries of pizza ingredients, hand grating the cheese, and drinking a protein shake. During the Family Night dinner service, La Tasha was on the meat station. After seeing Kalen struggle on appetizers, she decided to help out as it was becoming clear she was getting overwhelmed. Because of her, the women were able to push out their first appetizers. When Ramsay reminded the women that they were five tickets behind the men and called them lackadaisical, she responded that she was determined to never be called that again as soon as she would find out what it meant. The red team lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. She was not nominated for elimination. Episode 6 During the Barn Animal Challenge, La Tasha was paired with Ashley on the first part, and chose veal and couscous. She was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged by Ramsay, and presented her pan-seared veal chop with fig, pear, and toasted walnut couscous. While it was praised for its seasoning, Ramsay felt that it lacked acidity, and received 11 points out of 15. The red team eventually lost the challenge 25-28, and they were punished with extracting all the bone marrow out of bones for a ribeye special in the next service, and making the stock. During dinner service, La Tasha served a salad appetizer tableside. After Roe and Katie got kicked out of the kitchen, Ramsay relocated her to the appetizer station. Both teams were named joint-losers, and were asked to nominate two people each. She was not nominated for elimination. Episode 7 After Katie's elimination, La Tasha welcomed Sterling as a new teammate. During the Italian Cuisine Challenge, La Tasha went up against Santos, who called it the worst mistake of his life, and their dish was spaghetti alla carbonara. She was the fourth person from the red team to have her dish judged, her dish was praised for being fantastic, and she scored that round over Santos. The red team eventually lost the challenge 2-3, and they were punished with for the Italian Night service, breaking down squid for a black ink tagliatelle dish, and making pasta from scratch. During the punishment, she complained that she was up to a lot of squid parts on her station, and called it disgusting. During prep, La Tasha gave Sterling a rundown on where the stations were, but warned him that he only had one chance to impress them, and mistakes were not an option. During the Italian Night dinner service, she was on the dessert station. She was able to save Roe's steaks when the latter accidentally tripped, and she expressed dismay when Ashley's raw calamari came back from the Italian Consulate's table. Both teams were named joint-losers, and were asked to nominate two people each. She was not nominated for elimination. Episode 8 After Ashley's elimination, La Tasha said goodbye to Sade as she was reassigned to the blue team, and welcomed Frank as a new teammate, much to her dismay. Back in the dorms, she welcomed Frank to the red team with a beer. The next day, she told Sade that her new blue jacket did not suit her, but the latter retorted not to hate her. When La Tasha saw limousines pulling up, she thought it was President Obama, only to see dogs come out. During the Dog Show Planning Challenge, she was the first person from the red team to have her dish judged, and presented her pan-seared prawns with chipotle grits. While they were praised for being seasoned beautifully, they were criticized for being overcooked, and she lost that round to Fernando. The red team eventually won the challenge 3-2, and they were rewarded with a trip to SeaWorld in San Diego, and eating at the Searsucker Restaurant. While seeing a pet show, she felt like a kid again. During the Dog Show dinner service, La Tasha was on the hot appetizer station. She admitted how concerned she was about Frank’s performance, especially when the timings had to be precise. She was seen sending appetizers to the dining room at a steady pace, and before entrées began, she told Frank to help Roe on garnish, while she decided to help Sterling on meat. She managed to calm Sterling down when he got confused on orders, and kept him from walking his Wellington until Ramsay sliced his pork. The red team lost service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. She was not nominated for elimination. Episode 9 During the Craps Challenge, La Tasha rolled an L, and chose limes. After seeing her team's weird ingredients, she got concerned, and hoped that the red team had their creative juices flowing. Her dish was chosen as the red team's representative, and presented her pan-seared duck breast with a citrus roasted heirloom tomatoes chutney, scalloped potatoes seared in duck fat, and a toasted pine nut pesto. Not only did Ramsay praise the dish for having a spot on duck, but was also amazed that she was able to use the red team’s dysfunctional ingredients well together. Her dish won it for the red team, and they were rewarded with an overnight trip to Las Vegas, flew in a private jet, stayed in a mega-suite at the Planet Hollywood Hotel, and eating at Ramsay's BurGR. During dinner service, La Tasha was on the garnish station. After seeing Frank screw up a lot, she was annoyed as he was sinking them, and later, cooked scallops for him. Then, she noticed that Frank flipped his salmon, and reminded him that it had to be cooked skin down. Despite hoping that some communication and teamwork to help them, Frank continued to struggle, and she accused him of losing his mind. The red team lost the service, and despite being asked to nominate two people for elimination, Ramsay changed his mind, and she said goodbye to Frank as he was eliminated on the spot. Episode 10 Episode 11 Episode 12 Episode 13 Episode 14 Episode 15 Episode 16 Trivia *She participated in the seventh different-gender finals of Hell's Kitchen. *She is the thirteenth winner, and seventh female winner of Hell's Kitchen. *She is the sixth winner, and fourth female winner, to completely avoid nomination throughout the season. *She is the first contestant ever who scored 1 out of 5 in the new format of the Signature Dish Challenge and make it to the black jackets, as well as the only one who did and win the competition. Quotes *"Mama didn't raise no fool!" *"Chef Ramsay said that we are lackadaisical. As soon as I find out what that means, I'm gonna make sure that I'm never that way again!" *“Butcher some beef, BITCH, or I’ll butcher you.” Category:Chef Category:Season 13 Category:Winners